HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2017-07-06, Page 1INSIDE
THIS WEEK:
MEDALS - Pg. 8
MP hands out Canada 150
medals to residents
GRADUATION - Pg. 11
Area Grade 8 students
move on to high school
FESTIVAL - Pg. 27
'MrNew Year's Eve'
premieres at Blyth Festival
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Citizen
Volume 33 No. 27
$1.25 GST included
Serving the communities of Blyth and Brussels and northern Huron County Thursday, July 6, 2017
East Wawanosh marks township sesquicentennial
Worth celebrating
East Wawanosh celebrated its 150th anniversary over the
weekend with a homecoming that saw hundreds of past
residents return to the area for the big party. Festivities
kicked off on Friday night with the opening ceremonies, the
judging of the beard -growing competition and the
announcement of the winners of the photography contest,
as well as the beginning of the slo-pitch tournament. On
Saturday, despite some challenging weather, the parade was a
success, which saw many families and businesses show off their
creative side. Here, the Taylor family celebrates its many
generations in the township with a special float. The reunion
wrapped up on Sunday with a special church service, a sold -out
Blyth Lions Club dinner, a moonlight walk and farewell dance.
(Shawn Loughlin photo)
`Berlin Blues' opens Friday at Festival
The Berlin Blues, written by
award-winning playwright Drew
Hayden Taylor, is a slap -down, drag
'em out cultural appropriation
comedy of the highest (and lowest)
order.
Two German developers arrive
unannounced on the sleepy, fictional
Otter Lake reserve. They have with
them international investors, $164
million, and blueprints for a "Native
Theme Park," complete with bumper
canoes, an international longhouse
of pancakes, and a giant laser dream
catcher. What ensues is a hilarious,
laugh -a -minute riot, as some
members of the community
try to shut down the development,
while others leap in with both
feet.
The Berlin Blues features long-
time Festival favourites Catherine
Fitch, Tony Munch, and Nicole Joy -
Fraser who was last seen at Blyth in
2014's Stag and Doe. Making their
debuts on the Blyth stage are
multifaceted performing artist Nyla
Carpentier, veteran actor from the
Wikwemikong Unceded First
Nation on Manitoulin Island
Jonathan Fisher, and Port Elgin's
own James Dallas Smith, who is at
the Festival for the first time in his
career.
Playwright Drew Hayden Taylor is
an award winning playwright,
journalist, novelist and filmmaker.
Born and raised on the Curve Lake
First Nation, he has done practically
everything from performing stand-
up comedy at the Kennedy Centre in
Washington, D.C. to being Artistic
Director of Canada's premiere
Native theatre company, Native
Earth Performing Arts. The author
of 30 books, his most recent is the
play Crees in the Caribbean.
Director Brad Fraser is an award
winning writer/director/host who
has worked extensively in various
media. Credits include plays;
Unidentified Human Remains and
the True Nature of Love, Poor Super
Man, True Love Lies, Kill Me Now,
and others produced worldwide,
film; Love and Human Remains,
writer and Leaving Metropolis,
writer director, and television;
Queer as Folk, writer, story editor
and associate producer and
Jawbreaker which he hosted for two
seasons on Out TV. He has written a
number of projects for radio, CBC
and BBC, as well as regular columns
and stories for Xtra, The Globe and
Mail, The Toronto Star and others.
He has been the recipient of a
number of prestigious awards and
has just finished his Master's degree
in Theatre and Performance Studies
at the University of Toronto. Brad's
most recent play Kill Me Now was
nominated for a Governor General's
Award in 2016.
Megan Alfano is the
choreographer for the show tunes
composed by David Archibald. The
creative team for The Berlin Blues is
Kelly Wolf, set and costume
designer, Louise Guinand, lighting
designer, and Verne Good, sound
designer. Sandy Plunkett is the Stage
Manager and Laura Baxter is the
Assistant Stage Manager.
Reserve your seats by calling the
Box Office at 519-523-9300, toll
Free at 1-877-862-5984 or online at
blythfestival.com.
By Denny Scott
The Citizen
The East Wawanosh 150th
anniversary went well despite some
brief brushes with unsavory
weather, according to committee
chair Jamie McCallum.
"The weekend was great and the
weather held off for the most part,"
he said. "There was nothing too bad
for people to have to deal with."
The weekend started on Friday
night with registration beginning at
4 p.m. Opening ceremonies were
held at 7 p.m. and included the
judging of the beard growing contest
and the photography contest results.
The weekend -long baseball
tournament began soon after
followed by one of three dances
throughout the weekend.
Saturday included breakfast by
the Belgrave Kinsmen, a parade at
11 a.m. and children's activities
throughout the afternoon. The
afternoon also featured jam sessions
and a school reunion, followed up
by a chicken barbecue dinner and
another dance.
Sunday started with a breakfast by
members of the Fire Department of
North Huron. A church service and
family picnic started at 11 a.m. and
a smoked pork chop supper hosted
by the Blyth Lions ran from 4 p.m.
until 7 p.m. A moonlight walk
started at 7:30 p.m. and, from 8 p.m.
to 11 p.m., a farewell family dance
was held.
McCallum said that numbers were
yet to be determined, but the
Saturday night dance, featuring
Karli June, was likely the best -
attended event of the weekend.
"I know that the Sunday supper
sold out and we had over 700 people
in the dance on Saturday night," he
said.
The parade was also well
attended, according to McCallum,
who said the downburst of rain
minutes before the parade proved a
bit of a stumbling block for the
event, however thanks to some
pushing, pulling and towing, the
parade was able to go ahead.
"We staged the parade in a field
and, when the rain hit, most of the
vehicles got stuck," he said. "People
were pushing vehicles out and there
was a tractor there towing the
vehicles and floats out. We got
everyone on to the road and into the
parade, but it was a bit mucky.
"After that, the parade was
excellent," he said. "There were lots
of floats and it was well -attended. It
was nice to see that many people on
the parade route."
The rain also saw the children's
activities moved inside on Saturday,
McCallum said, but they were well -
attended and enjoyed he said.
"Family night also went well,"
McCallum said of the Sunday night
dance. "People seemed to have fun."
McCallum said that the event
wasn't just well -attended, but was
Continued on page 28